LTE may come to iPad, iPhone next year thanks to latest Qualcomm chips

Apple's move to standardize on Qualcomm baseband chips will be helpful in bringing LTE to the iPhone and iPad next year thanks to Qualcomm's next-generation mobile device modem (MDM) chips. The company announced on Wednesday that updated chips with integrated LTE and 3G support will offer greater power efficiency for mobile devices, a sticking point that has so far kept Apple from offering compatibility with high-speed LTE networks. Since Apple already relies on Qualcomm baseband chips in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPad 2, it should now have a straightforward upgrade path to LTE for 2012.

Qualcomm unveiled its 4G LTE compatible Gobi 4000 platform, which has API compatibility with its current 3G Gobi 3000 platform. The 4000-series adds extensions to enable LTE data transmission with automatic HSPA and EV-DO fallback. The platform is also compatible with EV-DO Rev. A and B, HSPA+, and dual-carrier HSPA+, offering device makers an integrated solution that will work with most carriers around the world.

Qualcomm also revealed its roadmap for the MDM chips that power the Gobi 4000 platform. The current MDM9600 and MDM9200 already offer integrated LTE and 3G support, but package size and power requirements exceed those of the MDM6600/6610 used in the CDMA iPad 2, the CDMA iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4S. Even several of the recently launched Android-based LTE devices have instead relied on separate LTE baseband chips in conjunction with a 3G baseband.

Consequently, Apple has maintained that LTE isn't a good fit for the iPhone even as carriers, particularly Verizon and AT&T in the US, continue to roll out LTE support. "LTE would force design compromises we're not willing to make," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February, and he has not wavered from that stance since.

But Qualcomm's second generation MDM9x00 series chips should provide Apple with the integrated solution the company wants. The MDM9615 is slated for first quarter 2012 availability, it seems, which could make Apple's next-generation iPad the first mobile device to incorporate it. Qualcomm has been transitioning its chips to a 28nm process, so these second-gen basebands should offer much better power efficiency than current LTE solutions.